Assessing The Whole-of-Government Approach in Malaysia’s Defence

Abstract

The Whole-of-Government (WoG) approach introduced as a key framework in the 2019 Defence White Paper reflects Malaysia’s effort to transform its defence ecosystem from a military-centric model to one that emphasizes inter-agency coordination. However, how this approach has been operationalised in Malaysia’s defence remains unclear. This paper provides an exploratory assessment on WoG practice in Malaysia’s defence sector using Ansell and Gash’s Collaborative Governance framework for analysis. It utilises a qualitative case study method to examine how the WoG approach has been embedded in Malaysia’s defence and identifies the main challenges limiting its operationalization. Data was collected through document analysis of policy documents, government reports and academic publications. Additionally, six semi-structured interviews were conducted to further supplement the data gathered. The analysis examines five key dimensions: starting conditions, institutional design, facilitative leadership, collaborative process and outcomes. The findings reveal that while Malaysia possesses a strong legal and conceptual base for inter-agency cooperation as its starting condition, a key pattern across the other dimensions is that WoG implementation in Malaysia is generally crisis driven. The paper argues that Malaysia’s WoG approach still lacks continuity and institutional maturity required for long-term effectiveness. It concludes with several recommendations to address the challenges and improve the implementation of Malaysia’s WoG approach.